Updated on May 22, 2019 at 6:10 p.m. with information about the bill progress.

AUSTIN — A bill to legalize industrial hemp production and many CBD products in Texas is one step from becoming law.

On Wednesday, the Texas House agreed with changes to House Bill 1325. It now heads to Gov. Greg Abbott for his signature and veto. Bill author Rep. Tracy King said he expects Abbott to sign his bill into law.

"I'm excited, I'm excited," King, D-Batesville, said after the Senate voted to approve his bill on May 15. "A lot of folks around the state are looking forward to clarity on the issue — and the ability to grow and participate in industrial hemp."

Hemp and marijuana both come from the cannabis plant family. Unlike its high-inducing cousin, hemp contains low levels of the psychoactive compound tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. The federal government removed hemp from its list of controlled substances, a move Texas replicated last month.

King's bill would set up a federally approved program for Texas farmers to grow hemp as a crop, including procedures for sampling, inspection and testing. It also would expand the kind of hemp products that can be legally purchased in Texas to include any hemp or hemp-derived products containing less than 0.3 percent of THC.

Cannabidiol, or CBD, products would also be legal if the bill becomes law, as long as they are derived from hemp and contain low levels of THC. Marijuana would remain illegal.

No, Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, answered. The bill expressly prohibits processing or manufacturing hemp products for smoking, Perry added, and retailers selling CBD products for human consumption would have to be registered with the state.

Other Republicans backed Perry up.

"This is no slippery slope toward marijuana," said Sen. Pete Flores, R-San Antonio. GOP Sen. Charles Schwertner of Georgetown added, "I want to clarify so the people of Texas know — this is not legalized marijuana."

Perry said passing this bill would be a boon to farmers, who want to cash in on the drought-resistant crop: "When Texas does something and does it right, we usually become the market leaders."

If it becomes law, this legislation would mark the first meaningful change to Texas' hemp and marijuana passed this year. Several other bills to expand the state's medical cannabis laws and lower penalties for marijuana possession are still being debated.